


Stargazing

by KingSnow5750



Series: Hollow Knight One Shots [1]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:53:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21610111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingSnow5750/pseuds/KingSnow5750
Summary: Cornifer loves late night talks. Stargazing is fun, right? Ghost doesn't get it, but a certain constellation catches their eye.
Series: Hollow Knight One Shots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1557634
Comments: 4
Kudos: 95





	Stargazing

**Author's Note:**

> Listen man I just love fluff and Cornifer and Ghost. That is all.

Ghost crawled out of the ancient well, shaking dirt from their tattered cloak. As they walked to Dirtmouth, the night sky reached far and clear above them. Nights like these were quite rare. Ghost settled down onto the iron bench, the cold seeping into their carapace, but almost being nullified by the void inside them. Elderbug looked toward them. "Are you cold?" He questioned politely, "That bench is usually quite comfortable, but not even that can always keep out the chill,"

Ghost gave a small shake of their head. Their body was naturally cool, the bench didn't bother them. Elder Bug gave a small noise of concern. "Okay, young one. Just know that I'll be right in my house if you need me," and with that he shambled off, hunched over to protect himself from the chill.

With that, Ghost settled down to relax. The town always had some sort of noise, despite the quiet. Right now, the wind whistled through the nearby cliffs, creating a low hum that sent waves of relaxation down them. Ghost couldn't sleep in the quiet. They came into this world in the muted abyss. Their siblings… they had to claw their way through their lifeless skulls. Even those noises seemed faded, struggling to even exist. Choked by the void, just like the rest of them.

Hallownest was always full of noise, always busy. They can sleep in Hallownest, knowing that they aren't alone. Ghost sunk into the bench further. As they relaxed, they felt their form unspool, losing shape and settling around them in a semi-liquid mass. This was peaceful. Ghost could sleep here, completely at ease in the tiny town of Dirtmouth. And so they did, drifting away to darkness.

…

The creak of a door swiftly awoke Ghost. They quickly reformed their void, nail arm first. Where were they? Oh. It's only Dirtmouth. It's never dangerous here. They now noticed the footsteps approaching and turned to see Cornifer. Even in this weather, he didn't wear a jacket. He also didn't wear his mapping supplies, which was a bit unusual. It wasn't until he was close that he noticed Ghost. "Ah, what a surprise!" He hummed, slightly startled. "I don't usually see anyone around this hour. I suppose you came to look at the stars too?" Ghost didn't respond. They supposed the sky was pretty, but they didn't usually spend time on things like that.

"You're hard to read, small one, but I'd recommend it. As nice as adventure is, it's important to relax and enjoy the stillness of life, wouldn't you say?" Ghost nodded hesitantly. They seldom sat still to watch life go by, but the times they did were… bittersweet. Maybe that was an important part of life too.

Cornifer took a seat next to Ghost. "Do you know much about the stars? I could teach you anything about them. Stars are important to navigating, and mapping them is my pleasure," he rambled happily. He didn't wait for Ghost to answer this time. "Right here is the King. He has a sort of crown made up right here, can you see?" Ghost could not see. How was what Cornifer pointed out a crown? "This one is great for finding north because the center spike always…" Cornifer continued. Ghost was confused now, but they tried to make it look like they were following.

"This is The Knight, or what a few people called it," Ghost stopped. Cornifer was pointing at a cluster of stars. Somehow, Ghost saw The Knight there. The horns, the nail, the cloak. It somehow clicked. "Nobody is quite sure who it is, only that it resembles the-- hmm? What is it? Do you recognize that one?" A vigorous nod.

"Really? I've only met one other who has even heard of them. How much do you know? Er, I mean, do you know a lot?" Ghost nodded again.

"That's wonderful! I'm no historian, but the mystery surrounding them has always fascinated me. I've rambled enough, why don't you tell me a bit about them. Or, show me, rather," he corrected.

Ghost complied, pointing to the constellation and back at them. "Are… are you the knight?" Cornifer asked, confused. They slowly shook their head. "Are you… related to them?" A nod. 

Cornifer gasped in delight. "Are you a grandchild, or great grandchild?" That was a no, and so were many others Cornifer named. At last, he stumbled on "Siblings?" Yes! Siblings. Cornifer gave a strange look at that answer, but moved on.

Slowly, Cornifer made his way through a list of questions, playing a game of charades both found surprisingly fun. He had figured out that the Hollow Knight was the Pale King's son, and that the Black Egg Temple was dedicated to them. Finally, he asked, "What were they fighting?" That was something hard to answer. There was no infection for Ghost to point out, and Radiance didn't have a constellation that Cornifer had pointed out. Finally, they grabbed a stick and carved it out in the hard packed dirt.

Infection

"The infection?" Cornifer queried. "How do you fight a disease?"

Ghost paused. They gestured to the three dreamers in the sky. "They fought the dreamers?" No. Cornifer thought deeply. "Oh! The dreamers are on the temple, aren't they? So it has to do with the temple?" Ghost nodded, jumping a little before writing something else

Alive

"The knight is alive?" Conifer exclaimed excitedly. "Oh, um, what does that mean…" He mumbled, drawn in with this new piece. "Are they… inside the temple?" Yes, yes! Ghost made a warding motion, as if casting off demons. "They are driving off the infection?" Almost! They pointed to themselves. "Driving it off inside of you? No! Inside of them? The infection is inside them?"

Ghost nodded and jumped as much as they could. "That's incredible, but… sad. I see it didn't work," Ghost stilled. That was true. Hollow's sacrifice was meaningless. "I suppose not all stories can have a happy ending," Cornifer said, shivering. "Are you cold out here? We have an extra bed at my house. It's only a cot, but i'm sure it's better than out here," the bug offered. 

It never occured to Ghost that you could sleep on something other than a bench. They were not cold, but… Elderbug was gone, and Ghost felt a strange twang at being out here alone. They nodded.

"Phew, alright," sighed Cornifer, clearly relieved that he was 'rescuing' his friend from the chill. "I'll even be able to show you around the shop tomorrow! I have plenty of maps and trinkets I couldn't bear to part with," he once again rambled as he lead the way to the shop.

He even continued as he pulled out a bed for Ghost, albeit quietly. "It's certainly not much, but a warm bed is sometimes just the thing you need," he said cheerfully, patting the dusty pillow. "I'll be up for a bit if you need anything,"

Ghost settled into bed. The cushions were exquisitely soft and warm, much better than a bench. Bugs slept in these every day? They didn't realize, but they were cold all this time. The blankets slowly thawed out their frozen limbs. Before they knew it, they were out to the soft hums and scratches of a bug lost in thought.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh wow, I can't believe how fast this blew up. 200 hits in a day? That's amazing! Thanks so much fot anyone who read, left kudos, or did anything else to support this, it means so much.


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